Best of the Rest
Atalanta back into CL: Atalanta booked a spot for next season’s Champions League after three years as they beat Lecce 2-0 away in Serie A on Saturday.
After a goalless tie in the first half, the away side broke the deadlock straight after the break when Charles
De Ketelaere ran onto a through ball and lobbed it over an onrushing goalkeeper.
Minutes later, Aleksei Miranchuk’s corner set up
Gianluca Scamacca for a twisting header to seal the win. (Xinhua)
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River Plate stay perfect:
River Plate continued their impressive start to Argentina’s Primera Division season with a 3-0 home win over Belgrano on Saturday.
Claudio Echeverri put the hosts ahead at the Monumental stadium with a 35th-minute strike before Facundo Colidio and Pablo Solari added late goals to secure River Plate’s second win from as many games.
The Buenos Aires giants now have a two-point lead over secondplaced Gimnasia in the 28-team Primera Division standings while Belgrano are 17th. (Xinhua)
America advance to final:
Mexico international defender Israel Reyes struck a second-half winner as reigning champions America advanced to the Liga MX final with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Guadalajara.
Following a 0-0 draw in Wednesday’s first leg in Guadalajara, Reyes broke the deadlock with a looping header on the hour at Azteca stadium.
“They [the fans] stuck with us throughout the match even after a first half in which things didn’t go well for us. We hope that they can help us to ensure a memorable final. We’re all in this together,” the 23-year-old center-back added.
America will play the winner of the other semifinal between Cruz Azul and Monterrey in the final, to be played over two legs on May 23 and 26.
Cruz Azul hold a 1-0 lead ahead of Sunday’s second leg of their semifinal at Ciudad de los Deportes stadium in Mexico City. (Xinhua)
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Montero replaces Allegri:
Juventus Under-19 coach Paolo Montero will take charge of the senior team for the final two matches of the season after Massimiliano Allegri was fired last week.
The 52-year-old Montero, who played for the Bianconeri, has never coached a Serie A team but Juventus announced on Sunday that he would make the step up for the final two league matches.
Montero will take charge of his first training session on Sunday before the team plays at Bologna the following day. (AP)